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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Montépilloy, located in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, is a collection of medieval ruins dominated by a circular 35-metre high dungeon, visible more than 10 km away. Ranked a historical monument in 1963, it includes a wall of enclosure, a 13th century castle enhanced in the 15th century, and an unfinished "new castle" from the early 15th century. The remains illustrate the evolution of military architecture between the Central Middle Ages and the end of the Hundred Years War, during which the castle was partially destroyed and transformed into a farm.

The building of the castle is associated with several noble families. The Butterhouse of Senlis, owners between the 12th century and 1353, probably built the original wall and fortified gate. After the destruction of the castle during the Grande Jacquerie (1358), Robert de Lorris, then Enguerrand VII de Coucy and Olivier V de Clisson, contributed to its reconstruction, notably the dungeon between 1360 and 1390. Guillaume II Le Bouteiller, back in 1407, hired the architect Jean Aumblet to reshape the upper floors of the dungeon and build the "new castle" between 1409 and 1411. The works ceased brutally in 1411 with the loss of the seigneury for the benefit of the Bourguignons.

The dungeon, the most emblematic element, has architectural features combining 14th and 15th century styles. Its climbing staircase, ogival vaults and mâchicoulis (similar to those of Pierrefonds) reveal successive construction campaigns, marked by the disturbances of the Hundred Years' War. The fortified gate, initially military, was enhanced at the end of the 15th century for residential use, reflecting the evolution of seigneurial needs. The "new castle", unfinished, was to form a noble courtyard with house and hemicircular tower, but only a quarter of the project was carried out.

After 1496, the castle, owned by the family of Montmorency, served only as a seigneurial farm until the Revolution. The ruins, partially restored by volunteers in 2019, were first opened to the public in 2012. The site offers a rare testimony of the adaptation of medieval fortresses to conflicts and social changes, in a landscape dominated by its dungeon, symbol of feudal power.

The toponym Montépilloy, attested as early as 1148 in the form Montespiloir, evokes a watchtower (mount of the observatory in picard). This linguistic origin confirms the initial vocation of the site: a strategic position on a hill at 133.5 m above sea level, controlling the old road from Crépy-en-Valois to Senlis. The surrounding forest and the denuded agricultural plains enhance the visibility of the dungeon, lastingly marking the local landscape.

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